What small business wants to hear during tonight's debate

Tonight's presidential debate will be crucial to sway the opinions of small business owners. According to a newly released USA Today/Gallup Poll, small business owners are split in their support of the candidates: 47% to 47% with the rest undecided. Topics of great interest include tax policy, fuel prices and health care. More from FOX Business.

See also:
» Florida presidential voting about to begin
» NBC poll shows Obama, Romney in Florida dead heat
» South Florida supporters of President Obama, Mitt Romney get ready for debate
» Tonight's presidential debate to set tone for race

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Scam targets real estate agents, others with state licenses

A scam is sending e-mails to real estate agents, asking they call in with personal information because their professional license is being suspended, a state spokeswoman said Wednesday. However, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation did not send the e-mails and officials think it is a ruse to steal personal information from unsuspecting victims, said Sandi Poreda, the agency's communication director. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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Hialeah business supplies spare parts for Cuban autos

Editor's Column What Makes Florida ... Florida Starting in the late 1980s, Florida committed itself to a program of acquiring environmentally important land. Since 1990, the program has bought more than 2.5 million acres and has received as much as $300 million a year in state funding. Florida’s three-decade commitment to preserving the state’s natural environment remains one of the few truly unifying forces in Florida and the single most important economic development asset everywhere in Florida. » Read the full column and add your comments at the bottom of the page...

Fernando Sardiñas uses his weekends to work as an illegal taxi driver in Havana. He does it in his loyal but beaten up Moskvich, a car from the Soviet era that continues running thanks to the ingenuity and creativity of its owner. But also thanks to the spare parts Sardiñas manages to find through a friend who frequents a business on the other side of the Florida Straits. More at the Miami Herald.

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Driven to safety: Businesses ban texting and driving

Florida is one of only six states in the country that doesn't have some form of a ban on texting while driving on the books. But while the Florida Legislature has been reluctant to prohibit the practice, plenty of drivers are being held back by a higher power: their bosses. From small mom and pop shops to large enterprises, scores of businesses have made Florida's roads a little safer by banning texting and driving on company time. More at the Tampa Tribune.

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Buyers may not understand risks in coastal purchases

Living along a Florida beach sounds like a dream, but it can bring nightmarish worries, including severe weather, erosion and regulations limiting how the land is used. A new study by researchers with the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, or UF/IFAS, suggests that many buyers aren’t aware that living on the coast brings special challenges. More at UF News.

Tech Spotlight Harris introduces smartphone for rescuers Harris Corp. has introduced what it calls the first Android-rugged LTE smartphone for first-responder field use. Its introduction comes as the the public safety community moves to deploy the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network. Melbourne-based Harris said its InTouch RPC-200 for first responders enables communication between different networks and commercial cellular technology through Harris’ BeOn PTT-over-Broadband application. » More from Florida Today and Harris.

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